Guest Column - What am I?

July 1, 2025

What am I? There are many answers to that question depending on context in which the question is asked. In relationship to my place in a family I am a son, a father, a grandfather and a widower. Throughout my career, I typically responded with my current job title when asked who are you or what do you do. I might answer: Insurance adjuster, accountant, supervisor, systems analyst, manager, administrator, or chief information officer. On a deeper level that did not really answer the question. It simply stated what I did to make a living and of course it was certainly part of my identity at the time. When I first retired, I tended to say that I was a retired CIO or hospital administrator.

Now I have had more time to think about it, I am asking myself this question. Who am I and what do I really like to do? What gives me a sense of self-satisfaction? It is building or creating something. I know that I am not alone in redefining life after retirement. It is important to find something meaningful to do in retirement. We are all living longer and have many good years to invest time in some that makes a difference. The “second act” as many call it can be as rewarding as the first career. I have been fortunate to find the things that I enjoyed but never had the time to do when working. Over the past few years, several pieces of furniture, a storage shed, two remodeled bathrooms, new cabinets, and a dining room table with benches have been built. I am either building something or planning the next project. And that’s the way I like it

Here are a few Pictures of recent some projects: The fact that I am a builder at heart should not be a surprise. As many of you know, after building my own log house I spent several years in the early 1980s Selling and building Log Homes before returning to the computer/ finance world to make a living. When I first retired, I worked with Habitat for Humanity as a volunteer to build several houses. The building seems to be in my blood. I guess I can blame part of my obsession with building things on my father who was always remodeling our house. When I was 6 years old, I built my first (play) house out of skids and crates he left at the end of the driveway. He encouraged me to continue even thro he had to fix flats from the nails I spilled in the driveway. In conclusion I think that I will always be a builder of things.

Author: Carrel Moore
Windmill